Not many travel apps worth downloading, study finds

Not all mobile travel apps are worthy of space on your smartphone, but there are some gems you should download and take along on trips or use for booking your next one, according to a recent report.

Just eight of 40 iOS and Android apps examined were deemed to be quality, including the mobile app from Chicago-based online travel agency Orbitz, according to the report by the Application Resource Center, which examined app-store star ratings and user reviews.

Other brands scoring high for their mobile apps were Booking.com, Alaska Airlines, Kayak, TripAdvisor, TripIt, Hotels.com and Zipcar. They all rated better than a 67 average score on the 100-point Applause Travel App Quality Index.

The stinkers, at least as judged by customer reviews, included household-name travel brands.

They included apps from Chicago-based United Airlines — although United rated as the third-best airline app — Delta Air Lines, Hilton, American Airlines, Marriott, Southwest Airlines, Hertz and US Airways. They all rated lower than 40 on the index.

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"The four largest airlines and two of the three most popular hotel chains offer the poorest-rated apps, suggesting it's time for the leading brands to realize the opportunity cost of letting users down in terms of brand equity — and lost bookings," the report said.

Among only airlines, the rankings were, from highest to lowest: Alaska, JetBlue, United, Delta, American, Southwest, US Airways and Frontier.

Among hotel brands, the rankings were Intercontinental, Starwood, Hilton, Best Western, Chicago-based Hyatt and Marriott.

Seven of the nine lowest-rated apps were on Android, while six of the nine highest-rated apps were on iOS, the operating system for iPhones and iPads. In general, travel booking brands lead the pack in making the best mobile apps, the study found.

The Application Resource Center, the research arm of Applause Analytics, said it analyzed nearly 400,000 app store reviews in conducting the study.